The Miss of a Lifetime
by Shiekah Meta
Summary: Hiccup had been looking forward to this moment his entire life, to down and kill a dragon, to prove to all of Berk that he wasn't just Hiccup the Useless, to prove that size doesn't always matter and cleverness can also work against the beasts, there's no way he's going to blow it away this time! Right? 'What if Hiccup Missed Toothless' Toothless and Hiccup centric, Mostly Hiccup.
1. Obligatory Beginning

_This is Berk, its twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery_, Hiccup thought to himself as he woke up to the frost biting his face. It wasn't every day that that he was shaken awake by the tremors of his house, but it happened so frequently for him to get used to it.

Hiccup threw off his covers in a flash, finally the moment he had been waiting for, a chance to test out his new invention and catch a dragon, showing everyone and especially his dad that he could fight as well as they could. Another tremor shook his house and dust fell from the rafters above his head. Hiccup walked downstairs to the door, not necessarily eager to go outside. The only place that people thought he could do any good was the forge or inside, a fact that he begrudgingly accepted. But today he would fix that.

Hiccup opened the door to get a good view of charging Vikings and a red Monstrous Nightmare hovering just yards away from him. Unfortunately for Hiccup, it noticed and Hiccup looked for a place to hide, glancing around him. He heard a growl and then a flash of heat from the dragon. Hiccup shut the door before the blast of fire hit him,

"Dragons," he said to himself, his eyes open wide. The crackling of burning wood surrounding his ears.

Hiccup waited a few more seconds for the Nightmare to leave before he peaked outside, _most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings, we have stubbornness issues._

He ran outside and ducked under his burning doorframe. He looked back and continued running with a grin, the thrill of adrenaline making him feel a bit daring. A Viking dropped in front of him and Hiccup ran around him, only to dodge an axe and having to run the other way. It looked like chaos to a normal person but everyone knew what they were doing.

Hiccup heard a sound like a head banging against wood and turned around to see a person on the ground and two more moving a log, probably to repair another house that got scorched. He turned around only to see a blast from a Gronkle and not a second later there was a Viking screaming in his face, which then proceeded to say 'Mornin'.

The young Viking got up and kept running to the forge. Now other Vikings finally noticed him and told him to go back home, get inside, yadda yadda yadda. They were basically telling him that he wasn't wanted on the battle field. Hiccup stayed quiet, even if he spoke up it would just distract them.

He was almost to his destination when a stream of fire suddenly appeared and blazed in front of him. He was about to run into it when a strong hand grabbed the back of his coat and yanked him away from the danger of being burned,

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup thought it wouldn't be so bad to be saved if he wasn't completely lifted off the ground like he weighed nothing…which was close to true.

"What is he doin out he- What are you doing out?" the chief said to his face, a strong and tall man with a long brown-red beard and a girth to be reckoned with, before placing him down and giving him a rough push, "get inside."

_That is Stoick the_ _Vast, chief of the tribe. They say when he was a baby, he knocked the head of a dragon clean off its shoulders. Do I believe it? Yes I do._

Hiccup monologued in his head before returning his trip to the forge. Hiccup ran by as they lit up the large torches, a sort of mechanism to throw off the dragons and to light them up as they flew by. They helped Vikings aim with their bolas and arrows since the dragons almost always raided by night. Actually Hiccup's never seen them come at all by day now that he thought about it.

He stumbled into the workshop,

"Oh, nice of you to join the party, I thought that you had been carried off!" A Viking with a hammer for a hand said while wiping off sweat from his forehead.

"Who me? Aw come on I'm waaay too muscular for their taste, they wouldn't know what to do with," Hiccup paused before gesturing to himself and made the motion to flex, "all this."

"Well they need toothpicks don' they?" the Viking said as Hiccup rushed to the window to open the forge. Instantly a collection of bent, dulled and broken weapons was dumped in front of him. Hiccup picked them up and placed them on a bed of hot coals,

_The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber, I've been his apprentice ever since I was little… well litt_er_. _He said inside his head as he pushed down the fan to heat up the coals, which took most of his strength to do.

Hiccup heard someone call out a fire and looked to the now open window where a group of teens hurriedly filled up water buckets to stop the spreading of fire, _Oh, and that's fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins: Ruffnut and Tuffnut and…_

Another teen threw her bucket of water on a pile of burning logs and spun around, a blast from a Gronkle exploded behind her and everything seemed to slow down for Hiccup,

_Astrid…_ he thought dreamily,_ oh their job is so much cooler. _Hiccup sighed and looked around for Gobber. He put one hand out the window when something caught the back of his shirt, again,

"Awe, let me out please, I need to make my mark!" Hiccup said, thinking of killing a dragon and finally getting noticed,

"Oh, you've made plenty of marks," Gobber pushed him back with his tongs, "all in the wrong places,"

"Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon, my life will get infinitely better," he gestured out the window, to Astrid but Gobber wouldn't know that, "I might even get a date."

Gobber rolled his eyes and began to count on his remaining hand,

"You can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe," he picked up a bola, "you can't even throw one of these!" he claimed before the said weapon was taken from his hand and instantly used to take out a dragon, Hiccup didn't get to see which one it got.

Hiccup lifted up a finger and backpedaled to his newest and greatest invention and unveiled it, "Okay but this, will throw it for me," he explained as he placed his hand on the side. He flinched back as the spring released and an already loaded bola flew out, nearly nailed Gobber and instead bounced off the head of a Viking in line. Hiccup internally cringed for what was coming next, that wasn't supposed to happen.

"Now this here is what I'm talking about," the taller Viking said, approaching Hiccup while gesturing to the sprung weapon. Hiccup stuttered,

"It's a mild calibration issue," he said as Gobber cut him off,

"If you ever want to get out there and fight dragons you need to stop on," Gobber straightened up and gestured to Hiccup, "this."

"But you just pointed to all of me," Hiccup said back in an exasperated tone, looking himself over as if there was actually something he needed to stop on, a finger jabbed at his chest,

"Yes, that's it! Stop being all of you," Gobber said with a small grin. Hiccup narrowed his eyes and nodded,

"Ooohh…"

"Ooohh, yeah,"

"Yo-you sir are playing a dangerous game, keeping this much … raw vikingness…contained?" Hiccup pointed his finger at the smith and got into his face, "there will be consequences!"

Gobber gave him a look of indifference,

"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now," he said as if Hiccup was too young to understand basic orders. The Viking dropped the double edged sword into Hiccup's arms and walked away. Hiccup heaved the weapon over to the sharpening wheel and placed it down, _One day I'll be able to get out there, because killing a dragon is everything around here._

Hiccup noticed the wheel slowing down and pressed on the pedal, _A nadder head is sure to at least get me noticed,_

He turned the sword over to sharpen the other side, _Gronkles are tough, taking down one of those would definitely get me a girlfriend. A Zippleback? Exotic, two heads, twice the status._

Hiccup glanced out at the raging battle outside, he saw a flaming dragon scale one of the many towers positioned around Berk. He watched as it shrieked and broke through the staircase where the Vikings would use to get up to the catapults,

_Then, there's the Monstrous Nightmare, only the best Vikings go after those…They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire. _He watched as the chief pummeled its head with a hammer when he heard the unmistaken screech of a rare and dangerous dragon. It's hard to miss it. Hiccup's attention left the sword and to the carnage outside,

_And the ultimate prize is the dragon that no one has ever seen, we call it the-_

"Night fury!" someone screamed outside,

"Get down!" another one yelled. Hiccup watched as a bolt of purple fire struck the catapult mounted on the tower. A black and undiscernible shape flew over the burning wreckage. There was another yell and the Vikings on top of the structure fell off as it collapsed on itself.

_This thing never steals food, never reveals himself and-_ another purple blast struck the tower and blew a hole right through it, effectively destroying it, -_never misses._

_No one has ever killed a Night Fury, _Hiccup thought to himself and straightened up, suddenly emboldened with the thought of being the first to kill one. He walked over to Gobber only to see him toss away his tongs and replace it with a worn down saber,

"Man the fort Hiccup, they need me out there," he said, hobbling over to the door only to stop and point at Hiccup, "Stay… Put… There."

Hiccup looked lost but didn't say anything,

"You know what I mean," Gobber said before charging outside with a war cry. Hiccup wasted no time to reload his bola shooter, toss his apron and flee outside with his invention. He ignored the yells of unhappy Viking customers around him and continued to a spot he had picked out just for this moment. Those Vikings could wait, the raid can end any minute now and Hiccup needed to act.

Hiccup ran through the village and went to the ledge where he could shoot out at sea without any objects in the way. He prepped the machine in record time and stood waiting for a target to fly by,

"C',mon, give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at," he whispered to himself, even if it wasn't the Night Fury, he could still prove that he could down a dragon. There was an unmanned catapult near him, the perfect target for the devil to attack and reveal himself. Something roared in the darkness and Hiccup pressed himself closer to the wooden instrument, straining to see anything in the inky black darkness.

Then there was that undeniable screech of the Night Fury and Hiccup prepared himself to let the bola good flying, he just needed a good sight on it.

The tower went up in flames as a well-placed shot from the striker class nailed it's mark, it's silhouette was lit up for a fraction of a second before it disappeared again. Hiccup closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. The spring flung him backwards and onto the ground, however he got up easily and waited for some sort of sign.

.

.

.

.

.

Nothing… no screech of pain, or anger. Just the sound of a good bola flying out into the sea. Hiccup felt his heart begin to sink as he realized he missed. He looked around to make sure that no one saw that and that yet another one of his embarrassing moments would be written down into history of Hiccup the Useless. He turned around to check but then heard unmistakable crunch of wood breaking.

Hiccup turned around to see a very, very angry black dragon on the splinters of his invention, it's deathly green eyes narrowed and it's many teeth bared,

"Uuhh, hi?" he said before the Night Fury growled at him. Hiccup did a very unvikingly yelp and turned tail and ran as if Thor himself chose him as the target for his lightning practice. There was a screech behind him and the sound of a dragon chasing him. He only focused on outmaneuvering the dragon and took a tight turn. He heard the dragon run into the building and shriek at him before taking off.

Hiccup ducked just as it's claws grazed his hair. He looked up to see nothing but a worried yet angry Viking chief. Hiccup sighed and picked himself up to face the music. The sound of the rarest and largest prize flapping away with a roar of victory, a prize that he just missed and was so close to getting.

* * *

**I got this idea after a quick thought of what it would be like if Hiccup missed Toothless in the beginning of HTTYD and how different the plot would be. Rest assured that this fic won't stray too far from the original plot though it will combine with HTTYD 2 somewhere in the teens chapters. **

**Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think! **


	2. Things Aren't Always Bad

"Okay Dad, I know what you're going to say but I almost caught a Night Fury," Hiccup said before the collar of his shirt was grabbed yet again by the burly Viking who was his father. This wasn't the first time he had been caught out during a dragon raid and it looked like Stoick was tired of the argument and remained silent as Hiccup prattled on,

"It was just a few degrees off mark, I can rebuild the bola-shot better and it will have a faster reaction time. I swear I can get that Night Fury with a good hit and stop it from destroying our defenses for good if you give me a chance. Dad-"Hiccup stopped when Stoick dropped him on his feet,

"Stop!" he nearly yelled to his face, Hiccup shut up instantly. By now a small crowd of people surrounded the two Hiccup realized, "just stop."

"Every time you step outside, danger falls. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter is almost here and I have an entire village to feed, I can't always be around you when you're at risk" Stoick scolded him. The young Viking took a short second to reply with a snarky remark,

"Uh, between you and me don't you think the village could do with a little less feeding don't you think?" Hiccup heard the sighs and mutters around him in the small crowd but didn't get to pay much attention to it,

"This isn't a joke Hiccup!" Stoick leaned down but his face looked hopeless and he sighed loudly, "why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

Hiccup stuttered, "I-i-I c-can't stop myself, I see a dragon and I have to just," Hiccup gestured as if there was something in his hands before he made a twisting motion, "kill it, y'know. It's who I am Dad."

He watched his father place a hand on his forehead and mutter,

"Oh dear…many things Hiccup," he shook his head, "but a dragon killer is not one of them. Get back to the house." He ordered. Hiccup frowned and looked to the ground but the 'discussion' was closed. Gobber came up behind him,

"Make sure he gets there!" Stoick said before he stormed off.

Hiccup hung his head and heard Snotlout and the twins jeering at him as he walked by. He kept his head low and tried not to respond but sarcastically replied to Snotlout when he joked at him, though when he heard the clunk of a helmet and the son of Spitelout say "ow", he felt a little better. However his day got infinitely worse when he got into an argument with Gobber.

Not necessarily an argument but Hiccup ranted on and on about the fact that he thought that Stoick viewed him as a mistake and if he ever paid attention, which didn't happen very often, it was always with a 'disappointed scowl'. He then proceeded to mock the chief as if he was served the wrong meal.

Hiccups day was fully trashed the moment Gobber said that it wasn't his short build and stature, which Hiccup still though was part of the villages dislike, that it was inside that his dad didn't like.

The young Viking ended the conversation and went inside. He stood around in the middle of the entry way before heading up to his bedroom with heavy feet. He replayed all the events that happened the hour before and reached for his sketch pad. He sat down at his bed and sat with his legs folded in front of him. Maybe he could sketch out the Night Fury from memory and try to plan their next 'meeting'. Hiccup placed the charcoal pencil down on the paper,

Flat head… narrow eyes… definitely large wings… two legs… wait… erase… four legs… tail… tap. tap tap…the charcoal dotted the paper as he couldn't remember anything else. Hiccup sighed and placed the pencil down and stared at the dragon which glared back at him almost as if mocking. He didn't get most of the details which he bet there was a lot of. Hiccup sighed and leaned against the headboard.

His mind went back to the conversation with Gobber and restated the last words he said to the meathead,

_Stop trying to be a person you're not._

"But I just want to be one of you guys," he said out loud and groaned. He thought about it, the thought that he couldn't be a dragon killing Viking. The thought that he had shoved away into the corner of his mind had resurfaced with a vengeance. It had been four years since his first major and destructive mistake where he tried to catch a dragon. It ended up with the great hall in flames and a screaming Monstrous Nightmare inside. That incident led to his 'banishment' to the forge where Gobber never let him out during a raid. That's when he thought being a dragon killing Viking was impossible, but he instantly stuffed that possibility away.

Now he considered it, he blew the moment he had waited for his entire life. He seemed to even help the dragons with his numerous mistakes. Maybe he could never get a chance like this again. Hiccup sighed and turned to his side, his mind full of troubles.

.

Hours later he hears Stoick's unmistakably loud steps downstairs as he came in for the night. Hiccup pursed his lips as he heard those same steps walk up to his bedroom door,

"Hiccup? Are you awake?" the Chief asked. Hiccup sat up and put his feet over the side of the bed, he hoped this wasn't some sort of scolding,

"Yeah, I never got to sleep anyway," he mumbled. Stoick made his way over to him, there was a healthy and long pause before either one of them spoke up.

"Are you alright son?" the bear-like Viking asked. The question caught Hiccup off guard and he looked slightly startled at his dad. He looked back to the ground,

"I'm fine, just a scrape from falling but it's not a big deal," Stoick rarely asked for his wellbeing after blunders like that. Hiccup felt a happier, at least today wouldn't be filed under the third most rotten day of his life.

"Good, good," he went silent. Hiccup knew he and his dad didn't talk a lot like this, or very often at all. Something really special must be coming,

"There's something I need to say."

"Well I'm not stopping you, so go ahead." Stoick had Hiccup's full attention now.

"I've been thinking about what you said," Stoick paused, "and I want to give you a second chance,"

Hiccup took a sharp intake of breath, second chance? What? "W-what do you mean?"

"Dragon Training. Tomorrow. I'm signing you up," Hiccup couldn't believe his ears. Stoick handed him a large axe in which he almost dropped.

"Y-y-you aren't kidding right?" Hiccup said with hope in his voice, glancing down to the weapon and back up again.

"Nope." That one word had Hiccup grinning like he was nine again, when he got his first knife as a present on Snoggletog.

"Oh… oh Dad, this changes everything!" Hiccup got up and walked around in place, his thoughts raced and threw the depressing one out the window. He turned back to Stoick and held out his hands, well, one of them, the other was straining to hold the heavy battle axe.

"You will not be disappointed. I-I'll fix everything and prove myself," he said, it was too good to be real.

Stoick nodded and went back to the door and turned around, "Train hard. I'll be back… maybe,"

Hiccup fell out of his revere and suddenly asked, "Wait, where are you going?"

"We're sailing out in a few minutes to locate the nest and to bring an end to these centuries of war," Stoick said with absolute determination. Hiccup knew that tone, once Stoick had his mind set on something, it was impossible to change his mind.

"Uhh, then I'll see you in a few days?" Stoick nodded and headed down the stairs. Hiccup looked to the iron axe in his hands and sighed, it was way too heavy for him to use in training.

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

"Welcome to dragon training!" Gobber trumpeted as he opened the heavy iron gate to the large stone fighting ring. The teens walked in and Hiccup couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation,

"I hope I get some serious burns,"

"I'd like some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back,"

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it,"

Hiccup piped up, "I have to agree with you there,"

The chief son mentally cringed as the group of teens all suddenly realized that he was there and spun around in surprise. Hiccup made a face when Tuffnut spoke up,

"Ugh, who let him in?"

Gobber wasn't going to hear any of that, "Let's get started! The recruit that does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village,"

Hiccup nodded, inside he was really eager to get start even if a little uneasy; however he couldn't help but roll his eyes as Snotlout jeered again. If he had a sheep for every insult he received from the son of Spitelout then Berk would never have food problems for decades, dragon raiding included,

"Well Hiccup has pretty much done the opposite of killing a dragon so where does that put him?" the twins laughed and Hiccup ignored the rest.

"Don't worry, you're small and weak, that will make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking like teens instead," Gobber gave a small chuckle and pushed him into the row. Hiccup shouldered his axe, not the same one that his dad gave him. The head was much thinner and lighter so he could pretty do almost everything faster when it comes to handling an axe.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!" Gobber glanced back to a cage that was shaking,

"The Deadly Nadder," "Speed eight, armor sixteen,"

Hiccup gave Fishlegs a look, "What?

"The Hideous ZippleBack," "Eleven stealth times two,"

"The Monstrous Nightmare," "Power fifteen,"

"The Terrible Terror," "Attack eight, venom twelve!"

"Can you stop that!" Gobber yelled at him. Hiccup saw a few of the teens who nodded in agreement.

"And..." Gobber placed a hand on the lever, "the Gronkle."

Fishlegs whispered to Hiccup, "Jaw strength eight,"

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs weirdly but before his mind could go any further he heard Snotlout suddenly exclaim,

"Whoa whoa wait, aren't you gonna teach us first?" Hiccup suddenly blinked and just realized what Gobber was about to do,

"I believe in learning on the job," the smith said with a grin before pushing the lever down. Hiccup reacted instantly and booked it from his spot as the Gronkle burst out from its cage and snarled menacingly. He barely heard Gobber speaking in the background,

"Today is about survival. If you get blasted," he heard the dragon ram into the side of the ring, "you're dead."

Hiccup was a good space away from the dragon when he turned to look at it. It was…eating rocks?

"Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need!?" Gobber asked them.

"A doctor?" Hiccup honestly asked.

"Plus five speed?"

"A shield!"

"Shield, go!" the teens scrambled from their spots. Hiccup noticed a nice pile of shields laid out almost in the middle of the arena,

"Well those would have been nice to know about from the beginning," he mumbled to himself and hooked his arm through the handle and lifted it up, it was much heavier than Hiccup expected and he nearly lost his balance, "Thor, why do they make these things so bulky?"

"The most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield," Gobber gave Hiccup a shove for good measure toward the battle. Hiccup surveyed what was going on, Fishlegs was currently being chased, the twins were bickering over a shield with skulls and Snotlout was hitting on Astrid,

"This is going so well," he said in a sarcastic drawl when Gobber wasn't noticing.

Both the twins were called out when they nearly got toasted by a Gronkle blast.

"Those shields are good for another thing!" the teens finally got together in a group and Snotlout stopped flirting for just a moment to pay attention,

"Noise! Make lots of it," Hiccup almost jumped back as the Gronkle swerved into their view but held his ground. He banged his axe on his shield and heard the others do the same, "throw off on dragons aim!"

Hiccup watched the Gronkle shake its head as the noise disorientated it. Gobber kept on going,

"All dragons have a limited amount of shots," the circle of noise broke and Snotlout let out a yell, getting its attention with a guttural growl. Hiccup retreated backwards away from the danger, "how many does a Gronkle have?"

"Five?"

Fishlegs excitedly spoke up, "No, six!"

"Correct, six! That's one for each of you!" the smith said as the dragon blasted Fishleg's shield right out of his hand and into the wall of the arena. Hiccup quickly ducked under some wood planks as the fire nearly nailed him. Hiccup tried to sneak away from the Gronkle but instead got its attention. He yelped as a blast of molten rock exploded in front of him and he retreated backwards under the cover.

He heard the Gronkle turn its attention away and quickly abandoned his spot. He saw Snotlout get creamed and Astrid flip over to him. Hiccup walked up to her,

"So it's just you and me huh?" he asked, his attention on the dragon. It rounded on them and growled.

"Nope, just you," she said and ran out of the picture. Hiccup saw a glow of orange and quickly ducked, his crush instantly forgotten, the flame missed him by a hair. He heard the Gronkle flying toward him and he looked up to see a giant face of brown and glowing eyes. He gasped and banged his shield against the side of its head in reflex. It looked barely fazed and snarled at him, it looked even angrier than before. He felt heat from its mouth as the dragon opened it.

Hiccup could only hear the blood pumping in his ears and didn't think. He ran right under it and he felt the explosion behind him. Hiccup spun around after a few good seconds of running to see the Gronkle charging at him.

Hiccup was knocked over to the side and hit his head hard on the rock ground beneath him and for a second he saw stars. His head pounded as he stared at the approaching Gronkle.

He barely registered that the dragon roared at him when a hook snagged the side of its mouth and yanked it down and away.

"And that's six," the smith said, and swung the Gronkle around as it tried to fly away, "go back to bed you overgrown sausage!"

Hiccup watched as Gobber struggled to put the dragon away, now sitting up after getting stunned, his head still hurt. He felt eyes on him and pursed his lips. He couldn't handle the stares and dropped his shield where he got it and walked out of the rink, he barely heard Gobber's orders,

"Now that that's done, everyone take a long break and meet up at the Great Dragon Hall for supper and we'll talk more about your performance later…"

* * *

**Next chapter might take a while but until then please review and tell me what you think!**


	3. A Walk, A Discovery, A Task

**Thanks for all the reviews!**

**Sorry if this Chapter seems to rush or progresses quickly. I didn't have a lot of concepts to work with. **

* * *

Hiccup trudged down the mossy ground underneath the trees of Berk. He left the ring and exited the village as soon as he could to get away from all the people. He needed time to calm down and maybe even let some things off of his mind.

The air was dry. Something normal on Berk, moisture never really lingered in the air, even at midday when the sun is supposedly the hottest. Hiccup licked his lips as he felt them begin to crack, there wasn't much he could do about it other than lick them. Sometimes it was so dry that some Vikings even had cracked lips that bled slightly.

There was an atmosphere of ease in the woods. Birds fluttered feverishly to feed for their young to help them grow before the nine long months of colder weather set in. There was a flash of a squirrel that was hiding nuts and seeds.

It was all very serene but Hiccup was feeling restless. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened in the kill ring. He nearly died. Instead of feeling fear or trauma, he just felt angry,

"Can I just get a break!?" he yelled at the sky, "is that too much to ask for?!"

Hiccup smacked a branch in anger but then yelped in pain as it came back to hit him. He glared resentfully at the branch and wished it would burn in the hottest fire in Berk. Hiccup kept walking down the slope to nowhere and ranted every now and then, the village elder said that it was good to let off some steam every once in a while.

He kicked a small stone as hard as he could.

_Sploosh…_

Hiccup sighed and got ready to go to Berk when he stopped mid step… Sploosh?

He spun around and walked toward the noise, there was a small cliff where he kicked the stone. He peaked over the edge and his breath caught. There was a cove, hidden by the many trees and depth of its location. Water streamed in from a nearby river and fell into a lake which rested in between two parts of land. Roots hung over the side and sunk back into the walls, round rocks jutted out of the sides. If Hiccup looked closer he could see a robin tending to its nest and plenty of fish swimming around in the sparkling water. It looked perfect.

Hiccup glanced around for a way to get in and saw a small tunnel at the other side of the cove. He quickly got up and ran to find the entrance. Two rocks guarded a dark tunnel and Hiccup went straight in. It wound down and rested right where Hiccup saw it. The cove was more beautiful down here than from up above. Now the waterfall tinkled in the sunlight and the world couldn't be greener.

Hiccup found himself walking out of the safety of the rocks and into the open. This place was almost as if it was out of a fantasy book. Hiccup saw a few smaller trees growing near the walls of the cove and got a crazy idea. What if he set up his workshop here?

It would be the best time to do it too. Most of the village was out searching for the dragons nest and Gobber was in charge of dragon training, meaning that he had to check on the dragons to make sure that they were in prime shape for lessons. All he would have to worry about were the other teens, Ruff and Tuff had a bad habit of sneaking around and Snotlout would never stop teasing him.

Hiccup placed both hands on his head,

"This is perfect!" he exclaimed, moodiness from earlier forgotten, "I can make a forge here,"

He gestured to a small part of the cove where the water fell, there was a small rock outcropping and plenty of shade if he got hot from the coals,

"A shelter," he pointed to another shady area, Berk was well known for its torrential downpours and horrendous hurricanes. If he was to get trapped down here then he might as well have a place to stay,

"a-and storage!" he looked to an open area next to a growing tree, all of his crafts and inventions would need a place to stay dry and out of the weather.

Hiccup grinned and began searching for rocks to make the forge. The task was easy since there were plenty littered around the walls and floor of the cove. He began to make a pile in the intended place until it was barely higher than his waist. Hiccup was breathing hard and took a moment to take a break. He heaved a loud sigh and leaned against a tree.

Hiccup was about to sit down when he heard a horribly loud noise, which alerted him instantly? Another dragon attack? Hiccup quickly ran out from under the shade and gasped. It was much worse than that.

A gigantic storm rumbled overhead, its clouds reaching higher than Hiccup had ever seen. It blocked out the sunlight completely and roared louder than a hoard of dragons. Lightning flashed across its contour as it barreled toward Berk. Hiccup needed to get back fast before the worst hit.

He started with a bolt out of the cove. It was bad getting caught out in a storm on Berk. It was worse getting caught out in a storm on Berk in the middle of the forest. Hiccup found himself tearing through brush in a hurry. The clouds were getting darker and the booming louder.

The rain didn't gradually happen, the skies opened up with buckets of rain instantly and Hiccup found himself getting drenched. He jumped over a small stream that had already formed. There was no more light and Hiccup was running through complete darkness. Something snagged on his boot and tripped him, face planting him into the mud.

Hiccup finally saw the torches of Berk. Warm, bright, torches. Hiccup was shivering as he reached the village borderline.

Hiccup ran under an awning and gasped for breath, his heart racing and his legs aching from the constant sprint. His clothes were completely drenched and stuck to his skin and his hair was flattened completely. Hiccup grimaced when he realized that he should be at the dragon hall for training. He forgot. Well, at least it would be warm there…

Hiccup ran up the rocky pathway to the grand building and snuck in through the huge doors. Hiccup closed them and let out a sigh of relief. He turned around to see Gobber and the other teens sat along one table; he could hear the smith asking the others what they did wrong and right. He sighed a not so sigh of relief and not so eagerly walked over to the table.

Instantly Snotlout had something to say,

"Whoa, Hiccup. What happened to you? You look like you just saw another Nightfury face to face. You're so pale!"

"Yeah, I know. Thank you Snotlout," Hiccup found himself replying sarcastically. He reached for his food and decided not to sit next to his cousin who was giving him an irritating look.

"Where did Hiccup go wrong?" Gobber said as Hiccup walked over to a separate table, at least thankful that the warmth of the hall was fighting off his shivers.

"Uh, he showed up?" Ruffnut drawled. Hiccup picked at his meat, used to this by now.

"He didn't get eaten." Tuffnut stated.

"He's never where he should be," Hiccup winced. Scratch that. He was not used to them talking down on him. Especially not Astrid since she typically ignored him.

_There goes my appetite… doesn't matter, this is already cold_, he thought to himself, poking his food.

"Thank you, Astrid," Gobber said slowly. He started up again, obviously continuing on from some previous subject,

"You need to learn and breathe this stuff," Gobber pulled out something from his belt, "the dragon manual."

Hiccup looked over as the smith dropped the tome on the separate table, "Everything we know about every dragon we know of."

Thunder boomed overhead and Hiccup looked up automatically. He was glad to be out of that storm and under the strong roof of the Hall,

"No attacks tonight, study up."

Hiccup turned to the table with the teens as Tuffnut asked incredulously, "Wait, you mean read?"

"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut said in disbelief as her twin rolled his eyes with a groan,

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you about?" his cousin asked, slamming the desk for emphasis.

"Oh, I've read it like, seven times," Fishlegs started up excitedly and Hiccup found even himself rolling his eyes. Hiccup found himself looking at the manual with interest, wondering if it had any tips on night furies or any information on the dragon at all. Hiccup knew that there were a lot of dragons that frequented Berk but that tome was thicker than he expected. Maybe he could try to take down other dragons before the night fury.

"-read, I'll go kill stuff," Snotlout decided before leaving the table, followed by the twins and Fishlegs. Hiccup got up himself and walked over to Astrid, nervousness settling in his stomach,

"So I guess we'll share?" Hiccup asked, hiding the hopefulness in his voice,

"Read it," Astrid denied him and pushed the book away as she left the table as well.

"Uuh, a-all mine then... So I'll, uh, okay. I'll see you ahh," the door slammed and Hiccup sighed, "tomorrow…"

Hiccup placed his hand on the manual and opened the cover, a thin layer of dust rubbed against his fingers as an old book smell assaulted his nose. Hiccup read the first page which labeled all the categories of the dragons,

"Dragon classifications… Strike class, fear class, mystery class, boulder class…" Hiccup closed the book and looked around at the few Vikings still lingering

around, he'd read it later. Hiccup went to his table and resumed picking at his meal.

* * *

**Bleh, I really don't like this chapter very much but tell me what you think.**


	4. The Book of Dragons

Hours went by and the storm had not calmed down. Rain still pattered overhead and lightning still roared outside. Dragons did sometimes raid by storm, but it always ended up in the Viking's favor each time, the wind threw the beasts off and forced them to land while lightning illuminated their shapes in the dark sky, making them easier targets for ranged weapons. The dragons learned this and refrained from attacking during these nights, so the people of Berk could be at ease without the chance of a dragon raid. But even if the dragons didn't know this, they still wouldn't have raided, having already early in the morning.

The massive doors of the Hall were slightly ajar, allowing gusts of cold wind to charge in from time to time. One candle was blown out after the first half hour and soon followed by more smoking wicks. It gradually got darker and darker in the Hall before Hiccup had to get up himself and salvage a candle before it got too dark to read.

Hiccup watched the last Viking leave, having finished his ale and tired from the day's raid, he hobbled off to bed. The chief's son felt like he could read at ease now, he had an annoying habit of speaking out loud when he read words and there was nothing he could really do to stop it.

Hiccup placed the candle down next to him and sat on the bench in front of the book. His fingers touched the dusty cover and pulled it open and flipped to the first dragon he saw. A dragon with a mouth as big as it's torso that the mouth might even be its torso. Rows of teeth were drawn on every part of its mouth,

"Thunderdrum. This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled the thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. This dragon also has the ability to shoot spines out of its tail like Nadders and are known to adopt other dragons of different breeds. These dragons also migrate in groups by sea to warmer lands in winter. Thunderdrums can grow up to four _faðmr's (1)_ long and one _faðmr_ wide.

Extremely dangerous, kill on sight," it ended. Hiccup had never seen a Thunderdrum but he had a feeling that he hadn't seen a whole lot of the dragons in here, only the ones that frequented Berk.

"Even if I haven't seen a Thunderdrum yet, it would be good to know how to kill it," he murmured to himself.

Hiccup flipped a few more pages to see a dragon with a gigantic wingspan and a skinny body, "Timberjack, this gigantic creature attacks out of the sky, with razor sharp wings that can cut clean through fully grown trees. The Timberjack is known for its silent approach before it kills and its inability to land. This dragon's wing span can grow up to seven _faðmr's _long.

Extremely dangerous, kill on sight," it ended again.

Another flip of a page. This brought him to a dragon with a huge belly and chin.

"Scauldron. These dragons are scattered across the ocean and are territorial to any other creature around it. Scauldrons cannot survive out of the water for long, in effect, their hide dries up and the Scauldron can die of dehydration. Sprays scalding water at and drowns its victims. These dragons are big enough to sink even the largest of Viking ships,

Extremely dangerous-" There was a loud crack of thunder outside the hall and Hiccup jumped in his seat, his head whipped toward the Hall doors and his eyes stayed wide. Lightning boomed outside and shook the wood of the massive building. No dragon attacks. Just the storm, Hiccup told himself as he hesitantly turned back to the book, reluctant with having his back to the door.

"The Changewing. This dragon lives in collective herds in thick forests and has the ability to change their color and appearance at will, making them practically invisible. Changewings also can spit acid at their victims which can eat away flesh in seconds and have the ability to hypnotize any unguarded prey. The Changewings will get together in groups if an egg is stolen or a hatchling is taken and will hunt for the thief. Even newly hatched Changewings and spit acid. When Changewings aren't attacking, they are curious creatures who will stalk Vikings and mimic their behavior.

Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

Hiccup saw the next few entries of the dragons that frequented Berk and skipped those pages, he already knew enough about them to survive when coming face to face. No night fury page yet. Hiccup turned a few more pages before he saw another dragon he hadn't seen at Berk,

"The Skrill. This dragon only found in electrical storms and draws lightning from its surroundings to blast at multiple victims at the same time. Skrills are extremely aggressive and will even attack other dragons without being provoked. They are rarely seen out of storms, if a Skrill is spotted in the open approach with caution, these dragons become more aggressive without the cover of a storm and can still blast lightning that was stored in its belly. The Skrill is so deadly it is comparable to a night fury.

Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

Hiccup found himself glancing back to the rampaging clouds outside; he hadn't seen a Skrill and was sure glad that he hadn't, but the book did mention the night fury so there had to be a page on it somewhere.

"If what this book says is true then we aren't safe even now. I'll ask Gobber tomorrow when the last time he saw one of these," he said to himself before turning to the next dragon,

"Whispering Death. This silent killer burrows underground to sneak up on its prey. The Whispering Death has rows of rotating teeth that can slice up a man in seconds and the entire body of this dragon is covered in razor sharp spines. This dragon moves in packs similar to wolves and will attack in groups. This dragon is sensitive to sunlight and staying out in the sun will weaken it drastically. If one Whispering Death is separated from it's pack and will be come extremely aggressive. To know if this dragon is approaching, its victims will feel tremors beneath his feet. This dragon only knows one thing, killing.

Extremely dangerous, kill on sight," Hiccup shuddered, from the cold or the alien look of the dragon. It was long, it's eyes were pale without any irises and it's teeth were gruesome.

Hiccup kept reading each page of each dragon. Some species were pretty interesting to Hiccup, like the Boneknapper which built itself an entire set of armor made of bones of other dragons. The Devious Snaptrapper, a four headed dragon which attracted it's prey by a sweet chocolate smell by using it's flower like tongues. The Fireworms, the small beelike dragons that nested islands away from Berk and kept liquid fire in storehouses bigger than the Great Hall.

Finally, Hiccup got to the last page and discovered it was mostly blank,

"Night Fury. Speed Unknown, Size Unknown, Shot Limit Unknown," Hiccup gazed down at the bolded text on the bottom of both pages, "the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon.

Your only hope is to hide and pray that it does not find you."

Hiccup stared blankly at the words before looking for anything else on the apparently extremely lethal species. The last few pages were completely blank, probably for more dragon entries in the future. Hiccup felt like he had been snubbed, he was looking forward to reading about the Night Furies and their weaknesses so he could down the one that flew around Berk. Hiccup felt around in his jacket and pulled out his sketchbook and flipped to the page of the sketch he made of the dragon.

He looked at the small picture and to the tome back on the table which was open to a nearly blank page.

* * *

Next Day

* * *

"So I read through the books and noticed there wasn't anything on Night Furies, is there a sequel or a ripped out page?" Hiccup questioned Gobber from down in the ring, he was currently holding both a shield and his axe.

Suddenly, a blast of searing fire melted the wall to his right and he yelped in surprise. The heat was hotter than any flame he had experienced on Berk, whether it just was the proximity of the blast or that it was just the Nadders fire, he didn't have much time to think about it because the said dragon jumped off of its perch was charging at him with flared wings.

Hiccup stumbled to the right and then to the left and ran down the corridor between a solid stone wall and a makeshift wooden barrier that Gobber had put up overnight,

"No, you're not missing out on anything," he barely heard the smith say behind him over the screeches of the Nadder. Hiccup ducked right and hid under his shield as the dragon lept overhead finding a new target as quickly as it lost him. Hiccup let out the breath didn't know he was holding in a relieved sigh and began to sneak along the walls of the makeshift maze.

He heard Fishlegs exclaim about Gobbers teaching methods as he rounded another corner to see the the Nadder staring at him with raised spines,

"Odin's ghost!" Hiccup yelled and ran away, shield behind him just in case the dragon decided to make him into a porcupine. He saw the twins out of the corner of his eyes heading straight toward the dragon before he turned to temporary safety. He was not a fan of being pelted with poisoned spines or charred like the rest of the teens participating in the 'training'.

Hiccup then immediately ran into Snotlout and Astrid, he was glad that his crush was there because it would have been like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire if it was just his cousin. They didn't question him tagging along beside them other than a scowl from Snotlout and a sideway glare from Astrid, Hiccup didn't even notice it. They ran by Gobber and Hiccup glanced up at the smith who was lazily leaning against the old bars of the arena and picking his nose with his good hand, he just then realized that the smith had been actually been giving instructions, he was so used to tuning Gobber out in the raids.

Suddenly the small group crouched. Not synchronized at all, first it was Astrid, then Hiccup then Snotlout. Both the boys didn't even notice the dragon had quietly stalked through the corridors to their position,

"Good call Astrid," Hiccup quietly mouthed, she rolled her eyes at him and quickly hid when the Nadder quietly stepped around a corner. Hiccup looked at their options of escape, the way they were running ended in a dead end so they had to turn around and go back the way they were running before the dragon got any ideas. Astrid went first with a somersault, followed by Snotlout. Hiccup just ran across, he wasn't even going to try it, the shield was heavy enough and he was pleased that he was holding it easier today.

Unfortunately, the dragon noticed him out of some bad luck and rushed toward him,

"Augh!" he yelped again and the Nadder's bite missed him by a hair. Hiccup sped around a corner and reacted before he could think, the dragon rounded on him and he smashed the side of his ax into it's face. It squawked in surprise but the blow only lightly dazed the dragon, in fact, it probably only made it angrier because it instantly rewarded Hiccup's efforts with a searing stream of fire. He found himself hightailing it out of there before the attack even grazed him. The sound of thumps above him told Hiccup that the Nadder was on top again and he bent down with his shield covering his head and waited.

Hiccup felt his heart racing in the moments when he was crouched. The adrenaline of battle was beginning to fade and his shield arm was beginning to ache. Then all at once, he saw Astrid and Snotlout running toward him. His cousin quickly turned to the nearest exit while Astrid missed it as she looked back at the rushing Nadder. Hiccup ducked his head behind the shield again and jumped when the dragon ran into the wall... which then began to tilt.

He stood up and watched in a daze as the dragon further toppled more walls which created a domino effect and in a small matter of time there would be no maze left. He saw the twins and Fishlegs run past him and decided it was a good time to follow them. Good thing too, a moment later a wall fell and Astrid landed right where he was standing. The Nadder burst out from two wooden walls that had fallen on top of him and screeched at Astrid. She gasped and readied her ax. The dragon saw this and decided to go after the twins instead, leaving a frustrated Astrid clutching her weapon.

Hiccup felt like it was going to be a long while before this 'lesson' finally ended.

* * *

**I feel a bit better on this one and here's a few Authors Notes**

**(1) Norse word for two yards. I thought that there would be measurements that you could find in the book of dragons just in case someone wouldn't be surprised that a Scauldron would be bigger than he/she thought it would be.**

**(2) For this particular fanfic. Toothless will not have a shot limit, in the Defenders of Berk series, it's just used for a plot device. In the first movie with the fight with the Red Death, Toothless fired 11/10 plasma bolts without any problem(SPOILERS)(SPOILERS) and in the second movie he fired 9 (at least) at the Bewilderbeast, that one large blast could easily be be counted as two bolts.**

**I can't wait to begin writing the chapters with Toothless, it's going to be so fun.**


	5. Over the Years

**I skipped quite a bit cause I had too much inbetween now and Hiccup meeting Toothless like everyone wants. So I shortened it down to a chapter full of summaries of what happened between when Hiccup was 15 to when Hiccup was 19. Plus, I couldn't wait.**

**Please review! It's very helpful and it encourages me to write more!**

* * *

Hiccup woke up to the shriek of a dragon outside, if he had a weapon for every time this happened then he would have enough to fully man an armada going out to war. It was a good thing that he had gotten used to waking up at a moments notice. One second he could be sleeping peacefully and the next a dragon could be setting his house on fire... which wasn't a surprise. The future chief flung his thin blanket off his still skinny form and sprinted out of his room, absently grabbing onto his helmet.

Hiccup hadn't grown up the way his father expected, he still remained lean and had yet to build up some 'real' viking muscle. However he did inherit his father's height, after a few years he found himself taller than Astrid and only a few inches smaller than his father. What no one was expecting was how hot he turned out to be, when Hiccup was eighteen, Ruffnut began hitting on him, an image he begged the gods to erase from his mind.

Four years had passed since Hiccup had entered into dragon training and it the end it didn't do much for him. He still couldn't take down a dragon but he could survive a raid even better than he could before. Basically, all it taught him was to run and survive. The other teens on the other hand, had passed through training. In the first year, Hiccup was quickly disqualified and soon followed by Fishlegs. Astrid had ended up killing two dragons in training, a fact that got all of the villagers' pride and joy. Her first kill was the Gronkle, damaged it's wings so badly that it was useless for training and her second kill was the initiation test. That Monstrous Nightmare head was proudly mounted over her doorstep, Hiccup shivered every time he saw it.

Next was Snotlout, took the Zippleback along with him, he sold the hide to some traders who had stopped by to see the fight. Fishlegs surprisingly was third, he was able to take down the Gronkle that they had caught just that year and then the twins became official dragon killers when they teamed up against the green and brown Terror they had had for years, it had actually been a surprisingly entertaining fight some Vikings said. Hiccup never went to any of these initiations, something that surprised every Viking, even Stoick. Each time he got to the rink and saw the trainee down in the pit, ready to fight, he felt sick and went home for the day. Helping Gobber turned out to be more preferable in the long run, he even found his own way to help fight off the raids.

Hiccup ran out of his house and stumbled to look back at it as a Rumblehorn flew overhead and melted the side of it in one breath,

"Augh, come on! I just fixed that roof yesterday!" Hiccup yelled in exasperation, it was true. The dragon raids had become more and more frequent up until there were six attacks in one week. Sometimes on the same day. Vikings were exhausted from all the fighting and it seemed like the dragons were too. They were slower and had less flame each time.

Hiccup turned heel and made a beeline to Gobber's. He heard a '_clack'_ beside him and turned to look at it. Bucket and Mulch were setting up one of his traps, an ingenious design if Hiccup said so himself. It was a wide bowl shape with the open side up, there were sharp spears that pointed in a downward slant. These were made to be pushed down but not up, so when a dragon flew in, it's wings would brush against the spears as it landed but as soon as it tried to fly away it's wings would tear ass they opened and the dragon would be grounded and vulnerable.

The two Vikings waved before going back to placing the largest fish he had ever seen in the middle of the deadly trap. That was one of his few inventions. Hiccup figured if he couldn't take dragons down himself then he would have others do it for him. Everyone on Berk was at first adamant until he trapped his first beast. Stoick even encouraged Hiccup after he explained more of his ideas. The world nearly turned around for Hiccup that day, now the Vikings had accepted him.

There was a high pitched note that suddenly ascended into an ear-splitting scream as the well known black devil dove down, Bucket yelled,

"NIGHT FURY!"

"DOWN!" A feminine voice called out and Hiccup shot his head up, Astrid was on the roof with a shield. The night fury reached the peak of his dive and let loose a blue bolt of fire right at the trap. Astrid didn't hesitate and hurled her shield at the oncoming blast.

Hiccup quickly covered his head as the shield burst into pieces of shrapnel right over him. Hiccup looked up at Astrid,

"Are you insane!?"

"You're welcome, I just saved another one of your traps from it!"

"Well yes, thank you Astrid. But-"

"Can it Hiccup and get to Gobbers, i'll watch your back," she said before jumping off the roof to retrieve another shield. Hiccup threw his hands up and out of the corner of his eye he saw a bent up spring. It only took Hiccup seconds to register,

"ASTRID! That was one of the Shieldbows! Check next time!" Hiccup yelled in anguish and tried to collect any of the remaining pieces that weren't blasted beyond recognition. That was one of his other inventions, the Shieldbow. The name was self explanatory, it acted as a regular shield but could morph into a useful crossbow due to the use of a springed button on the underside. It was also able to shoot faster and had better precision than the normal long bow, another idea that most Vikings jumped to the occasion to use.

Hiccup and Astrid's relationship had progressed from 'ignoring' to the 'brain and brawn' situation. Hiccup was the brain, Astrid was the brawn. It was pretty interesting how it all happened. It started out with Astrid wondering where Hiccup went out into the woods each day, she stumbled upon his little cove in the middle of nowhere with him building the prototype of the one-way-dragon-catch. After boat loads of talking over months of time, she came to realize that Hiccup had a 'different way of fighting', that's how she put it. Astrid decided if the citizens of Berk wouldn't listen to Hiccup, they would listen to her. This then proceeded overtime to Hiccup trapping a dragon with his prototype and gaining his respect in the village.

The Haddock scrambled inside Gobber's smith just as a Nadder scorched the ground behind him. He paused to hear the Night Fury fly overhead and roar. He and it had gotten a reputation on Berk. They both had their fair shares of confrontations and eventually became rivals, Hiccup even claimed that the dragon was his to down and kill, no other Viking could do it, something that he declared after Dagur wanted it's head for his own. This went along with almost no rebuttal, they all just thought Hiccup was crazy to think that he could down a creature like that.

That dragon was smart, Hiccup knew it. When he was sixteen and still getting used to the village liking him, this Night Fury found out that the person who was making the traps was him. It even came during the day when they weren't expecting it and destroyed all of his progress in under one hour. During that time however, it gave Hiccup a good look at it's entire body, two wings, four legs, two tailfins, a ridged back and strange head flipper thingy's. He also found out and was horrified that the dragon either had a +10 shot limit or it had no shot limit at all. There were seven traps on Berk the time it attacked and each trap took two blasts to destroy one completely. Hiccup took that information and absorbed it like a sponge.

There were a few more times that Hiccup and the devil fell out. A year later, Hiccup jumped on it's back, intending to weigh it down with a bags full of bolas. This idea when terribly South when 1. Hiccup wasn't strong enough to lift the bags, 2. They wouldn't have weighed the dragon down anyway, 3. Hiccup jumped on it's back, which is a horrible idea with no back up around. The dragon went ballistic and flew bat shit crazy over Berk before he fell off. Luckily, Stoick had some sort of 'Hiccup-danger-tingle' and caught him before he could hit the ground too hard.

The night fury targeted him more after that, the stupid dragon would rarely give him a break. Sometimes it would go out of it's way to get Hiccup out of the fight.

"'Ey boy, watch those swords," Gobber's voice broke him out of his recollection, "I finished sharpening them minutes ago," Gobber chided him though his eyes were free of rebuke, Hiccup started a little bit. Hiccup noted the pile of weapons sitting on the edge of the table, ready to be used in battle but also precariously placed outward in such a way, a person could get cut on them. He took them and dumped them on the windowsill for the other Vikings to grab,

"Well then you should put more care into your weapons Gobber," Hiccup sassed back with a grin, grabbing an unfinished mace and hurrying over to his desk,

"Feh, coming from you that's hilarious! If I put as much care into my weapons as you put into your inventions then they wouldn't even get to the table," Gobber retorted,

"I told you, the ones I treat like that never worked in the first place!" Hiccup rolled his eyes,

"Well that's like...sixty percent?"

"Fifty-three percent Gobber,"

"Right, right... so how's you and Astrid?" Gobber pried, polishing a broad sword on his legs,

"Oh gods Gobber, we aren't together," Hiccup threw his hands to his sides, "I've already told you this over and over!"

"Suure, I see the looks you give her lad when she's not looking,"

Hiccup sputtered, "I do not give her looks!"

"Give who looks?" Hiccup's head whipped to the door to see Astrid standing in the doorway with a handle of an axe and a shield which Hiccup found himself eyeing skeptically for a second before turning his attention back to the warrior with a fluttering stomach,

"Astrid! Hi, h-h-hey Astrid, hi Astrid," he stuttered, Gobber knowingly grinned behind them as he turned and went back to sharpening an old broadsword.

The feminine warrior tossed the useless piece of wood onto the pile of weapons bent beyond repair and went for a new one hanging up, speed walking past Hiccup to get to it. He watched her reach for it when her voice broke his train of thought,

"Hiccup, aren't you going to test out _that_ machine again?" she asked, now holding a brand new double sided axe, it was a good few inches larger than the broken one, Hiccup paused and his view glanced to the smaller invention covered by a sheet in the corner of the room,

"W-well, yeah. I fixed the huge knock back, made it more durabl-"

"Be careful out there alright?" she interrupted him, she had already assumed that today was the day,

"Yeah, yeah o-of course," he stuttered again and stared at her. She nodded thoughtfully and rushed out the door after her restocking. Hiccup sighed and looked over to Gobber who had been humming to himself as the short exchange when on, Hiccup grit his teeth and walked over to the small machine.

Hiccup flattened out of the few wrinkles on the cover and pulled his hand away. The fabric had collected a small layer of white ash from the forge.

There was a screech and then a crash outside as the battle raged on. Hiccup swallowed any fear and tore the sheet off to reveal a touched up version of the bola-shot. He grabbed the two handles on the back of it and pushed it outside and past the waiting Vikings that lined up outside. A few protested but the rest just watched him go. Cut through the road and go between the houses, Hiccup ran up to the very same hill that he used four years ago. He dropped the handles and set the machine up, scope flipped up, bolas loaded, supports dug into the ground, safety turned off and trigger spring ready.

Even though the roar of the dragon's and viking's combined behind him, the night still sounded silent and mysterious as if it held something yet to be discovered, exactly like that night years ago. Hiccup heard his heart beating in his ears and his ragged breaths. His hands readily gripped near the trigger as he anxiously waited in the darkness. Nothing came for a long time before the recognizable whistle of the Night Fury shattered the stoic mood of the darkness.

Hiccup couldn't see it but he didn't need to. He knew this dragon and how fast it could fly and where it would be. A loud whoosh and a blast of air whisked by his right and he aimed the bola-shot in the dragon's path. Hiccup pressed the trigger and a bola went loose, and then another one and then another. A rapid fire of bola's, up to five, came from the small machine and spun in the air, extending to their farthest lengths.

Hiccup strained to hear anything, fearing that this night would be a copy of the one years ago.

A snap.

An outraged roar and the faint sound of something crashing,

Silence...

"I hit it?" Hiccup couldn't believe it, "YES! I hit it!"

* * *

**Please don't kill me for killing their dragons! *cowers in fear* At least Stormfly is still alive, that's something.**

**.**

**Anyway, please review! It helps me update faster!**


End file.
